Harry Brook overtakes Joe Root to become No.1 ranked Test batter

Just 27 months on from his debut, 25-year-old Harry Brook established himself as the world’s best batter in the longest format on December 11 (Wednesday). The Yorkshire man has overtaken fellow Englishman Joe Root to become the highest-ranked batter in ICC’s latest Test rankings. 

Brook’s eighth Test century, seventh away from home, was enough to help England seal a 2-0 series win over New Zealand with one Test to spare. It was also the innings that helped him eke past Root by a single point at the top of the rankings. 

"If you asked me, Brooky is by far and away the best player in the world at the minute," Root said after England's victory.

"He has such an all-round game, he can absorb pressure, he can apply it, he can whack you over your head for six, he can scoop you over his head for six, he can smack spin, he can smack seam. He's so hard to bowl to."

Meanwhile, Australia’s swashbuckling batter, Travis Head, made steady progress, jumping six spots to become the fifth-ranked Test batter. South Africa’s Temba Bavuma, too, has climbed up to the the seventh position on the list. 

Also Read: Temba Bavuma: Less hundreds but plenty of resolve

India fans would want to look away as Rishabh Pant has dropped three spots to ninth, only the second player in the top ten rankings after Yashasvi Jaiswal (fourth). Sri Lanka's Kamindu Mendis rose to sixth. Steve Smith, whose form is on a decline in Test cricket, has slipped beyond the top ten rankings for the first time in over 10 years. He is currently ranked 11th. Virat Kohli, who dropped out of the top-10 rankings for the first time in July 2022, has now gone down to 20th spot. 

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